Mae Sa Elephant Camp
In the lush tropical jungle of Chiang Mai's Mae Sa Valley , a big family of 70+ elephants lives side by side with their mahout caretakers. "Maesa Elephant Camp" is home to one of the largest assembly of elephants in the north of Thailand .
The philosophy is to create a natural and healthy environment for the elephants while working to conserve and breed them,due to the dwindling number of Asian elephants left in the wild.
Riding elephant to Ban Thong Luong
Ride elephants through the jungle to the nearby village of "Ban Tong Luong" about 1 hour's lumber away. We'll take the car and meet you there, enjoy a slow lumber through the lumber, if your lumbar is not so good you can skip the lumber and ride with us in the car.
Ban Tong Luong
Established in 2003 for eco-agriculture, and opened for tourism in 2006. The dual purpose of opening for tourism is to preserve the culture and generate income for hill tribe peoples. This village has 4 different hill tribe peoples, with a total community of around 150 villagers including: Ka Young, White Karen, Lahu and Dara Ang (Palong).
Lunch @ Ban Thong Luong
In the middle of the village is a very pleasant open air restaurant serving excellent meals and drinks.
Mae Sa Snake Farm
is the largest snake reserve in northern Thailand. Here snakes from all over the country are kept and bred, even some on the brink of extinction. The farm presents a show several times a day, and while it is very staged it is still quite exciting and fun... (what the heck... we'll be passing the door anyway) oh... these are the "dragons" I promised
THE MONKEY CENTRE
Since we'll be passing by anyway, lets drop-in and watch a show at the Monkey Centre, not just for a laugh, it's also educational. Farmers of various crops use monkeys to pick their produce, coconuts, tamarinds etc... these displays show how clever our ancestors are.
It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, love and the patience of a saint to train these little creatures. But most monkeys are ready to take to the stage after about two months with their trainer. The animals are well looked after and enjoy regular visits from a local vet to ensure that they are in the best of health.
Tiger Kingdom
The Tiger is a wild animal, but here everybody can play, touch, and take picture up close with the tigers. Second time I went there (April 2008) there were 6 month olds, just playful kittens, but, the size of rottweilers! (I got a small bite, hahaha). The restaurant serves very good food and drink and overlooks the pen. Enjoy a tasty meal while observing the behavior of the tigers.
